Animation by Montserrat student Thomas Wakely

Animation and computer animation involves the creative assembly of linear elements - which may or may not be narrative in nature - using hand and digital tools, drawn or vector art, and video content. The designation *interactive* *media* emphasizes newer media that explicitly accommodate or encourage user involvement in an experience. That involvement might take the form of a web site; a non-linear story; it might also involve dialogue (querying or playing with) with a database-backed information format, whether it is an order form or a computer game.

Interactive Technologies

Animation and Interactive Media (A+IM) at Montserrat College of Art reflects a philosophy that the basic ideas of linear, time-based and interactive media are equally at home in the fine arts and commercial realms, and that practitioners share tools, practices, basic storytelling and/or information design principles. This new concentration recognizes the new interactive technologies so prevalent in the world of art today. A+IM is also a natural outgrowth of the changing Montserrat curriculum, which has engaged for many years in teaching time-based media and where discipline boundaries are increasingly blurred.

Courses & Requirements

In addition to specific animation courses The A+IM concentration incorporates courses in several departments including Graphic Design, Illustration and Photography. The program leaves it up to the individual student, under the guidance of faculty, to discover and pursue his or her aesthetic direction. The concentrator applies for the Senior Fine Arts Seminar (SFAS) as a capstone experience.

Employment Opportunities

The goal of the animation program is to prepare students to work as individuals or as members of production teams in the development of animation or interactive media projects, as independent fine artists and/or as members of commercial enterprises.